IIB 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1627 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2011 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for certain 

requirements for the placement of monuments in Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honoring American 

3 Veterans Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PLACEMENT OF MONU5 MENTS IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY. 

6 Section 2409(b) of title 38, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘Under’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 

9 Under’’; 

10 (2) by inserting after ‘‘Secretary of the Army’’ 

11 the following: ‘‘and subject to paragraph (2)’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) Except for a monument containing or mark15 ing interred remains, no monument (or similar structure, 

16 as determined by the Secretary of the Army in regula17 tions) may be placed in Arlington National Cemetery ex18 cept pursuant to the provisions of this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(B) A monument may be placed in Arlington Na20 tional Cemetery if the monument commemorates— 

21 ‘‘(i) the service in the Armed Forces of the indi22 vidual, or group of individuals, whose memory is to 

23 be honored by the monument; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) a particular military event. 


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1 ‘‘(C) No monument may be placed in Arlington Na2 tional Cemetery until the end of the 25-year period begin3 ning— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of the commemoration of serv5 ice under subparagraph (B)(i), on the last day of the 

6 period of service so commemorated; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the commemoration of a 

8 particular military event under subparagraph (B)(ii), 

9 on the last day of the period of the event. 

10 ‘‘(D) A monument may be placed only in those sec11 tions of Arlington National Cemetery designated by the 

12 Secretary of the Army for such placement and only on 

13 land the Secretary determines is not suitable for burial. 

14 ‘‘(E) A monument may only be placed in Arlington 

15 National Cemetery if an appropriate non-governmental en16 tity has agreed to act as a sponsoring organization to co17 ordinate the placement of the monument and— 

18 ‘‘(i) the construction and placement of the 

19 monument are paid for only using funds from pri20 vate sources; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of the Army consults with 

22 the Commission of Fine Arts before approving the 

23 design of the monument; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the sponsoring organization provides for 

25 an independent study on the availability and suitVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:57 May 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1627.RFS H1627

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1 ability of alternative locations for the proposed 

2 monument outside of Arlington National Cemetery. 

3 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary of the Army may waive the 

4 requirement under paragraph (2)(C) in a case in which 

5 the monument would commemorate a group of individuals 

6 who the Secretary determines— 

7 ‘‘(i) has made valuable contributions to the 

8 Armed Forces that have been ongoing and perpetual 

9 for longer than 25 years and are expected to con10 tinue on indefinitely; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) has provided service that is of such a char12 acter that the failure to place a monument to the 

13 group in Arlington National Cemetery would present 

14 a manifest injustice. 

15 ‘‘(B) If the Secretary waives such requirement under 

16 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) make available on an Internet website noti18 fication of the waiver and the rationale for the waiv19 er; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af21 fairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 

23 the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 

24 Representatives written notice of the waiver and the 

25 rationale for the waiver. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Army shall provide notice 

2 to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee 

3 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

4 Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services 

5 of the House of Representatives of any monument pro6 posed to be placed in Arlington National Cemetery. Dur7 ing the 60-day period beginning on the date on which such 

8 notice is received, Congress may pass a joint resolution 

9 of disapproval of the placement of the monument. The 

10 proposed monument may not be placed in Arlington Na11 tional Cemetery until the later of— 

12 ‘‘(A) if Congress does not pass a joint resolu13 tion of disapproval of the placement of the monu14 ment, the date that is 60 days after the date on 

15 which notice is received under this paragraph; or 

16 ‘‘(B) if Congress passes a joint resolution of 

17 disapproval of the placement of the monument, and 

18 the President signs a veto of such resolution, the 

19 earlier of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the date on which either House of 

21 Congress votes and fails to override the veto of 

22 the President; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 30 session days after 

24 the date on which Congress received the veto 

25 and objections of the president.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CODIFICATION OF PROHIBITION AGAINST RES2 ERVATION OF GRAVESITES AT ARLINGTON 

3 NATIONAL CEMETERY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 24 of title 38, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2410 

6 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 2410A. Arlington National Cemetery: other admin8 istrative matters 

9 ‘‘(a) ONE GRAVESITE PER FAMILY.—(1) Not more 

10 than one gravesite may be provided at Arlington National 

11 Cemetery to a veteran or member of the Armed Forces 

12 who is eligible for interment at such cemetery and the 

13 family members of such veteran or member who are also 

14 eligible for interment at such cemetery. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive the requirement under 

16 paragraph (1) in extreme circumstances, as determined by 

17 the Secretary. If the Secretary waives such requirement 

18 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit notice 

19 of the waiver to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and 

20 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the 

21 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on 

22 Armed Services of the House of Representatives. 

23 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AGAINST RESERVATION OF

24 GRAVESITES.—A gravesite at Arlington National Ceme25 tery may not be reserved for an individual before the death 

26 of such individual.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of chapter 24 of such title is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 2410 the 

4 following new item: 

‘‘2410A. Arlington National Cemetery: other administrative matters.’’. 

5 (c) APPLICABILITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), section 2410A of such title, as added by 

8 subsection (a), shall apply with respect to all inter9 ments at Arlington National Cemetery after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b) of such sec12 tion, as so added, shall not apply with respect to the 

13 interment of an individual for whom a written re14 quest for a reserved gravesite was submitted to the 

15 Secretary of the Army before January 1, 1962, and 

16 subsequently approved. 

17 (d) REPORT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of the Army shall submit to Congress a report 

21 on reservations made for interment at Arlington Na22 tional Cemetery. 

23 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para24 graph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) The number of requests for reservation 

2 of a gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery 

3 that were submitted to the Secretary of the 

4 Army before January 1, 1962. 

5 (B) The number of gravesites at such cem6 etery that, on the day before the date of the en7 actment of this Act, were reserved in response 

8 to such requests. 

9 (C) The number of such gravesites that, on 

10 the day before the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act, were unoccupied. 

12 (D) A list of all reservations for gravesites 

13 at such cemetery that were extended by individ14 uals responsible for management of such ceme15 tery in response to requests for such reserva16 tions made on or after January 1, 1962. 

17 (E) A description of the measures that the 

18 Secretary is taking to improve the account19 ability and transparency of the management of 

20 gravesite reservations at Arlington National 

21 Cemetery. 

22 (F) Such recommendations as the Sec23 retary may have for legislative action as the 

24 Secretary considers necessary to improve such 

25 accountability and transparency. 


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1 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE PROVISION 

2 OF A MEMORIAL MARKER ON CHAPLAINS 

3 HILL TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF THE JEW4 ISH CHAPLAINS WHO DIED WHILE ON ACTIVE 

5 DUTY IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE 

6 UNITED STATES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) 13 Jewish chaplains have died while on ac10 tive duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. 

11 (2) Army Chaplain Rabbi Alexander Goode died 

12 on February 3, 1943, when then U.S.S. Dorchester 

13 was sunk by German torpedoes off the coast of 

14 Greenland. 

15 (3) Chaplain Goode received the Four Chap16 lains’ Medal for Heroism and the Distinguished 

17 Service Cross for his heroic efforts to save the lives 

18 of those onboard the Dorchester. 

19 (4) Army Chaplain Rabbi Irving Tepper was 

20 killed in action in France on August 13, 1944. 

21 (5) Chaplain Tepper also saw combat in Mo22 rocco, Tunisia, and Sicily while attached to an infan23 try combat team in the Ninth Division. 

24 (6) Army Chaplain Rabbi Louis Werfel died on 

25 December 24, 1944, at the young age of 27, in a 


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1 plane crash while en route to conduct Chanukah 

2 services. 

3 (7) Chaplain Werfel was known as ‘‘The Flying 

4 Rabbi’’ because his duties required traveling great 

5 distances by plane to serve Army personnel of Jew6 ish faith at outlying posts. 

7 (8) Army Chaplain Rabbi Meir Engel died at 

8 the Naval Hospital in Saigon, Vietnam, on Decem9 ber 16, 1964, after faithfully serving his country 

10 during World War II, the Korean War, and the 

11 Vietnam War. 

12 (9) Army Chaplain Rabbi Morton Singer died 

13 on December 17, 1968, in a plane crash while on a 

14 mission in Vietnam to conduct Chanukah services. 

15 (10) Army Chaplain Rabbi Herman Rosen died 

16 in service of his faith and his country on June 18, 

17 1943. 

18 (11) His son, Air Force Chaplain Solomon 

19 Rosen, also died in service of his faith and his coun20 try on November 2, 1948. 

21 (12) Army Chaplain Rabbi Nachman Arnoff 

22 died in service of his faith and his country on May 

23 9, 1946. 


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1 (13) Army Chaplain Rabbi Frank Goldenberg 

2 died in service of his faith and his country on May 

3 22, 1946. 

4 (14) Army Chaplain Rabbi Henry Goody died 

5 in service of his faith and his country on October 19, 

6 1943. 

7 (15) Army Chaplain Rabbi Samuel Hurwitz 

8 died in service of his faith and his country on De9 cember 9, 1943. 

10 (16) Air Force Chaplain Rabbi Samuel Rosen 

11 died in service of his faith and his country on May 

12 13, 1955. 

13 (17) Air Force Chaplain Rabbi David Sobel 

14 died in service of his faith and his country on March 

15 7, 1974. 

16 (18) Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cem17 etery memorializes the names of 242 chaplains who 

18 perished while serving on active duty in the Armed 

19 Forces of the United States. 

20 (19) None of the 13 Jewish chaplains who have 

21 died while serving on active duty are memorialized 

22 on Chaplains Hill. 

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that an appropriate site on Chaplains Hill in Arling25 ton National Cemetery should be provided for a memorial 


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1 marker, to be paid for with private funds, to honor the 

2 memory of the Jewish chaplains who died while on active 

3 duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, so long 

4 as the Secretary of the Army has exclusive authority to 

5 approve the design and site of the memorial marker. 

6 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE SERVICE 

7 AND SACRIFICE OF MEMBERS OF THE 

8 UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES WHO ARE 

9 SERVING IN, OR HAVE SERVED IN, OPER10 ATION ENDURING FREEDOM, OPERATION 

11 IRAQI FREEDOM, AND OPERATION NEW 

12 DAWN. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find14 ings: 

15 (1) More than 2,000,000 members of the 

16 Armed Forces have deployed to the theaters of war 

17 since the commencement of Operation Enduring 

18 Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation 

19 New Dawn. 

20 (2) Hundreds of thousands of such members 

21 have deployed for multiple tours of duty, leaving 

22 their homes, their families, and in many cases, their 

23 civilian jobs. 


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1 (3) More than 5,500 members of the Armed 

2 Forces have made the ultimate sacrifice for the 

3 United States while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. 

4 (4) Tens of thousands of additional members of 

5 the Armed Forces have been seriously wounded in 

6 the line of duty while serving in these theaters of 

7 war. 

8 (5) These members of the Armed Forces have 

9 answered the Nation’s call to duty, serving bravely 

10 and nobly and, in most cases, without fanfare or ac11 claim. 

12 (6) These members of the Armed Forces have 

13 personified the virtues of patriotism, service, duty, 

14 courage, and sacrifice. 

15 (7) All Americans recognize the service and sac16 rifices made by these members of the Armed Forces 

17 and their families. 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress— 

19 (1) honors the members of the Armed Forces 

20 who are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, 

21 Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn 

22 and the members and veterans who have previously 

23 served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation 

24 Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn; and 


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1 (2) calls on all Americans to reflect on the serv2 ice of these members and veterans and to hold them 

3 in a special place of honor now and in the future. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2011. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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